The Recovery Catalyst
by WeBuiltThePyramids
Summary: Penny has an accident which causes her to need Leonard more than ever. Slight L/P all the way through, more in later chapters.
1. Accident

**I have been starting too many fics lately! I still have The Red Report Transgression, The Equine Expansion, The Penny War Antagonism, and The Marathon Analogy to finish! But the first two should be done by the end of October, and I still have my plot maps for the other two. They'll all get done, I assure you, but I wanted to start this fic because myself and some others feel cheated out of some great potential storylines that could have come out of Kaley's horseback riding incident. Much greater than "bartender.":D**

**I promise, this is not going to be like Kaley's injury. The only thing the same is she broke her leg-and I'm only writing this because we're not going to get storylines out of this situation. This is not an attempt to mimic what's happened in Kaley's real life.**

**This takes place at some point in the future (i.e. after The Zazzy Substitution) and is not connected in any way to any of my other fics that take place in a similar time period.**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. Nada. Zilch.**

"Sheldon, I cannot pick you up at the comic book store. I have to get to work…no, I don't have time for that…I really don't care how menial it is, I have to pay rent…no, you not wanting to walk half a mile is not more important."

If someone else was in the apartment, Penny would have rolled her eyes at them. Ever since the fiasco with the vegetables and Shelbot, Sheldon hadn't wanted to walk anywhere. He didn't care that it would keep him healthy. He figured that he was healthy enough, and made a fair enough argument that the pollution wasn't the ideal thing to be breathing in.

"Why don't you get Amy to get you…oh, that's right. Well…what?" She shifted the phone to her other hand. "Look, I'm sorry, but I'm running really late. They're short staffed today and I was late twice last week because of driving you around. You can walk, Sheldon. It's going to be fine." Penny didn't wait to hear the response. She simply hung up and dropped her phone in her purse. "Keys," she said aloud to no one, rushing into her room and swiping them from the dresser. "Okay." She was ready to leave, and she glanced up at the time. Damn, she was late!

Penny figured that if she ran everywhere that she couldn't drive, she'd just make it. Locking her apartment door, she sprinted for the stairs.

She was on the third floor landing when she slipped. Her feet flew out from under her, she landed on her back and tumbled down the stairway, limbs flailing. What had just happened? Penny struggled to think about the past ten seconds. She'd slipped and fallen, that much was obvious, but somehow she was now on the second floor and not the small landing in between. So this wasn't like the Jogging Incident of 2010 that had happened with her and Sheldon.

When she could breathe again, she tried to think her way around her body to make sure everything was okay. Her hands and arms were fine-her shoulders and back hurt from hitting the stairs, though. She thought that some part of her was on fire, but she couldn't see any flames. There would be flames, right?

Penny's head hurt, and she brought a hand up to brush some hair away from her face. When she did, her hand came back stained red. Startled, she reached back and touched the side of her face, along the hairline. It stung, and was clearly bleeding.

Penny sat up-or thought she sat up. The next thing she remembered she was lying flat on her back again, feeling dizzy and disoriented. When she made another attempt to sit up, the dizziness came over her again, and she fought to stay conscious. This time, she didn't black out, but she almost wished that she had. A sharp pain shot up her left leg, which was bent in an awkward angle. Penny gave up trying. The world went black again.

* * *

"Okay, Sheldon, I'll be right there…no need to apologize…okay, yeah, I guess that was more of an explanation…well, she's busy, Sheldon; I'm sure she…okay, okay, I'm leaving now." Leonard threw on a jacket and grabbed a key from the bowl. So Penny had been running late again. Typical behavior, of course. Sheldon ought to be used to it by now. "I gotta go pick up Sheldon," he said to Howard and Raj. "I'll be back in twenty or so."

"Take your time," Raj said. "We can't figure this game out anyway, and Sheldon's good at setting it up."

Leonard raised an eyebrow. "Sheldon would be able to show you and explain…" Leonard trailed off as he realized that that was precisely what they didn't want. "Oh, got it. Okay, I'll drive slowly."

Leonard carefully locked the apartment door and headed down the stairs. When he got to the third floor landing, he noticed a banana peel on the ground near the stairs. He stopped and raised an eyebrow. Anyone who slipped on that would fall victim to the lamest real life cliché in the universe. Leonard considered picking it up, but where would he put it? After glancing at the elevator doors and deciding against it, Leonard nudged the peel out of the way and continued down the stairs.

Coming to the next small landing he noticed a stain on the carpet and stopped again. What was going on today? He would have stopped to analyze the stain, but knew that Sheldon was waiting. When they returned home, he'd call on it. He wasn't sure what it was anyway; the stairways weren't very well lit.

Leonard's blood turned to ice as he came around that corner and saw the second floor landing. "Oh, my God," he said, bolting down the stairs.

Penny was lying on her back, her arms looking like they'd remained where they'd fallen. One hand was red, and Leonard could see the wound on her head. It looked as if she'd had a small nosebleed, too, but that was the least of his concerns. Her left leg was bent at an awkward angle on the lower half of her leg, and both of her feet were swollen.

Leonard reached her and dropped down on his knees next to her shoulder. "Penny!" He said in a voice that he hoped didn't sound too frantic. One of his hands found his pocket and frantically dug for his cell phone, and the other tucked a few stray hairs behind Penny's ear. "Penny, wake up, say something!" He found his phone and dialed 911. When he heard an answering voice on the other end, Leonard barked the address and information. "She's got a laceration on her head and it looks like her leg is broken. Her feet are swelling-I think because both ankles are sprained." Leonard kept stroking her hair, her hand, the side of her face, willing her to open her eyes and hoping that, even if she wasn't awake, she knew he was there.

Then she did open her eyes, ever so slightly. When he saw them again he realized just how pale she was. "Leonard," she croaked. "I fell down the stairs."

"I know," he said gently. "I called an ambulance."

Penny shook her head in protest; Leonard knew she hated ambulances. Once, she'd gotten Sheldon to drive her to the hospital for a dislocated shoulder, claiming that she couldn't wait long enough for an ambulance when she knew Sheldon would drive slower. She'd never said so, but Leonard thought that Penny associated ambulances with very serious injuries and was afraid of having to ride in one.

Penny slid her arms behind her and tried to sit up. She almost made it, but Leonard saw her injured leg move as she tried to shift her balance. He reached out a hand to catch her as she fell back, letting out a cry that reminded Leonard of the wounded dog that he'd tried to befriend when he was seven. "_Ow_," she moaned, her lips trembling.

"Don't try to sit up," he told her. "Keep everything still. Don't touch it."

Penny let her head rest back on the ground. "I tried to get up before. I passed out."

"Shhh," he said. "Just don't talk, okay? The medics are coming; they'll give you something for the pain. How bad is it? Scale of one to ten?"

"Eight or nine," she said, closing her eyes again. "Do I have to go in an ambulance?"

Leonard hesitated. "Um…yes. But don't worry about it. Hey!" he exclaimed when he saw tears in her eyes. "I'll come with you, if you want." She nodded quickly. "Okay," he said, instinctively reaching for her hand. He felt her fingers curl around his, holding them tightly.

**Three more weeks! In three weeks I'll have more time than I know what to do with, so I'll finish two of my fics and keep working on the other three. (Wow, five fics at one time, that's more than I've ever worked on before! But I guess it's good-they're all different so there's always something to update!)**

**Leave a review!**


	2. The Hospital

**Here's chapter two! I did actually proof-read this one…quickly. I'm updated this quickly because I have the first 6,000 words written. This fic is going to be long. After this I'm not sure when I'll update again, I hope to update something tomorrow, but I'm not sure what yet. In my profile is a poll, so vote on what you want me to work on next!**

**And yes, my How I Met Your Mother obsession leaked out, just a little, in this chapter. Just for anyone who notices.**

**DISCLAIMER: Still own nothing.**

The ambulance ride was uneventful enough. The medics had stabilized her leg for the trip to the E.R., even though it would have to actually be set when they got there. They'd maneuvered the stretcher down the stairs-thank Cow only one flight, Leonard thought-and into the ambulance. "Can I get in with her?" He'd asked. At the nod of one of the medics, he jumped inside.

"It's going to be okay," he kept telling her.

"Bullshit," she said. "I'm so messed up, I have that audition in a week; I'll never be able to go. How am I supposed to wait tables on crutches or in a wheelchair?" She put a hand up to her face and covered her eyes.

Leonard looked down at her, first at her face, then at her hair that was matted with blood near her ear, then down at their hands. Anywhere but at that leg. He couldn't imagine how much that had to hurt. Raising his gaze from their hands back to her face, Leonard swallowed hard. It had been months since they dated; they'd become strong friends again, but it was moments like this, when she'd be sick or exhausted or stressed or hurt and he wanted to hold her and talk to her and make her feel better. It was times like this that made it harder to forget.

"Okay, we're here," one of the medic's announced. "Sir, we're going to let you out first. Get to the side and out of our way while we unload, okay?"

"Got it." Leonard snapped out of it and rose to his feet. When he let go of Penny's hand, her eyes flew open and locked on his. "It's okay," he said. "They're going to set your leg, and you'll be fine." She bit her lip. "I promise!" He said, giving her an encouraging smile as he exited the ambulance.

As he stepped to the side, Leonard remembered something. _Sheldon. Damn it!_ He pulled out his phone and dialed.

"Leonard? Where are you?"

"I'm at the hospital, Sheldon," Leonard said. "Penny's hurt."

"If this is another bathtub incident, then I simply cannot feel any sympathy for her. I warned her a year ago that adhesive stickers were a necessity."

Leonard rolled his eyes even though he knew that Sheldon couldn't see him. "She slipped on a banana peel and fell down the stairs. And no, I don't expect you to believe that."

After he hung up, Leonard entered the emergency room. It was fairly empty, and the lady at the desk called him over. "Are you with that blonde who just came in?" She asked.

"Yes. Yes, I am," Leonard stammered. "I mean, not 'with' as in dating, we're not dating, we used to, but not now, we're friends, but I did arrive with her in the ambulance. The one parked out there."

The lady was giving him a look that definitely was not amusement. "Oh, that one. Sure."

"Sorry," Leonard said, trying not to stutter. "I'm just worried."

"Here," The lady said, handing him a clipboard. "You can fill out whatever you know. Just don't sign anything."

"Got it." Leonard sat down and shakily filled in Penny's name, address, age and marital status. She'd already told them about medications and allergies, and all the rest was insurance information, which he really didn't know. Returning to the front desk, he handing the papers to the lady. "When can I see her?"

"I'll check," she said.

"Thank you." Leonard returned to his seat, suddenly realizing that he should call the others. He dialed Howard first and got no answer. When the same result happened with Raj's phone, Leonard called the apartment's number.

"Ello-hay! Eaky-spay Ig-pay Atin-Lay. Eave-Lay an essage-may! Eep-bay!"

"It's my apartment, Howard, I know that's not a recoring."

"Dammit." Leonard could hear the sigh over the phone. "He always calls when we do stuff like this."

There was a scuffle and Leonard was pretty sure he heard Raj tell Howard to give him the cockamamie phone. Howard either lost the skirmish or obliged, because Raj's voice came over the wire next. "Dude, we said take your time, but we figured out the game a half an hour ago."

"Yeah, about that," Leonard said. "Okay, not really about _that_, but…well, Penny's in the hospital."

"You were with Penny?" Raj sounded confused, then proud. "Up top, dude!"

"No, no, not like that," Leonard said. "And you can't do high fives over the phone. I mean, she's in the hospital because she fell down the stairs. Broke her leg and split open her head. Cut her head," he corrected, realizing how awful his first word choice sounded. "They're setting her leg now, so I'm waiting to see her when she's ready."

"Okay," Howard said. "Call us when she can see people, okay?"

"Why don't you just come now?" He asked.

"As much as we hate to do it," Howard said, "someone has to go and get Sheldon."

* * *

When Penny came out of the anesthesia, a stiff white bandage was wrapped around her leg. She was wearing hospital clothes, light green with ugly dark blue flowers on them.

She took a breath in through her mouth and was surprised at how much her lower lip hurt. She must have bitten it while her leg was being set. She heard that that procedure hurt like hell; luckily, she didn't remember it.

"You're awake," said a voice. Penny turned her head to see a young nurse who was rearranging the counter next to her bed. "How do you feel?"

"Throat's dry," Penny said. "Where's Leonard?"

"I'll get you some water," the nurse said. "And I'll tell your boyfriend he can come in."

Penny nodded, not bothering to correct the nurse. What would be the point, anyway? "Nurse?" She turned around, her hand still on the faucet. "Is the doctor coming back?"

She nodded. "He'll be in soon to talk with you-five minutes, probably. Okay?" She handed Penny a cup of water.

Penny nodded, raising the cup to her lips. God, water was so good right now. It cooled her throat and eased the stinging of her lip. She drained the cup and let it fall, too weak to sit up and lean over to put it back on the tray.

"Dropped something," came a voice. She looked up to see Leonard standing in the doorway, nodding toward the cup. "You're littering the hospital. Giving the janitors a job."

Penny knew him too well to be fooled. He wanted to come over to her and ask how she was, but he knew that she hated being pitied. "Come over here," she suggested. "I can't talk to you from way over there; that'd be so weird."

Leonard smiled and walked up to the bed, sinking down on the stool beside it. "How are you doing"

"They set my leg, stitched up my head, and put ice on my ankles. I feel like I'm a beaten up prizefighter."

"You looked pretty bad when I found you," he admitted. "You looked dead. You were so pale."

"Thanks for staying with me," she said, smiling at him. She opened her mouth to say more, but she was interrupted by the entrance of the doctor, who greeted them cheerfully.

"I'm Dr. Valle," she said. "I met you before I set you leg, do you remember?"

Penny studied the woman, feeling bad as she shook her head. "No."

"Okay. Just asking. Well, here's the good news. Your break was simple and clean, so there's no bone fragments to remove. That means you likely won't have to have surgery. We'll know in three days when we bring you back in for another examination. If you don't need surgery, you should make a very quick recovery."

"Oh, good," Penny said, feeling relieved. She knew that she couldn't stay away from work for very long-being single and trying to support herself wasn't easy, especially with her spending habits. "But what if I do need surgery?"

"It'll delay healing time by several weeks, but you wouldn't have any other lasting effects."

Dr. Valle stayed for a few more minutes, answering questions, then picked up the clipboard to go. "We'll get you a wheelchair for now," she said. "Hopefully you can switch to crutches soon."

"Thank you," Penny said, watching the doctor leave. Then she burst into tears, unable to help herself. She felt Leonard's hand rest on her shoulder as she sobbed. "What?" She asked.

"It's okay," he said. "That's good news-with no surgery, you'll be up and around again in no time!"

"Where am I supposed to go the next few days," Penny asked. "I can't get up four flights of stairs!" She could tell by Leonard's expression that he hadn't thought of that. "I could get a cheap hotel and request the first floor…"

"Or you could stay with Wolowitz, at his house. They have a spare room."

Three years before, Leonard's suggestion would have made Penny ralph. Three days before, she would have given the matter some thought. But as of yesterday, she'd learned that Howard's aunt and uncle were staying at Casa Wolowitz. Even if there was room there, Penny didn't want to share it. "Howard's family," she said to Leonard. "Remember?"

He nodded. "Right. Well…you could always get that hotel. There's a few surprisingly cheap ones around here…but then, getting the permanent cast wouldn't enable you to climb stairs, so wouldn't getting a hotel forfeiting your home for months?"

Penny hadn't thought about that. "Eh…well, once I get the real cast my leg will be pretty much stabilized, and I won't be afraid of doing some little thing that would necessitate surgery. By then, I'll probably be able to get up the stairs without worrying."

"Probably," Leonard said, smiling.

Penny smiled back. "Thanks for coming with me," she said, shifting her weight carefully. Damn, this was going to be hard! Even moving her body slightly to become more comfortable had her watching the leg carefully, afraid to move it at all. Her eyes started to well up.

Just then, the doctor came back in. Two nurses followed with a wheelchair. "Okay," he said. "I have your X-rays and your release papers. For the next four days, ice the leg for fifteen minutes of every hour and don't do anything that would cause you to put weight on the leg." He gave a few more instructions, but they all blended together in Penny's mind. Her head was spinning, so much to remember, she had to be so careful…"

The next thing she knew, they were helping her into the wheelchair. "Wait," she said, "how do I get home?"

Leonard spoke up. "Howard went to Bernadette's and got her mother's van. Her aunt used to live with them and was in a wheelchair, so they have, as the aunt would put it, this fancy contraption where the wheelchair is strapped to the floor."

"Oh! That's handy," Penny said, meaning it. "And there's some sort of crane that lifts me up or something?"

Leonard laughed. "No, they have a ramp."

Penny raised an eyebrow. "Really."

"Come on," he said, moving behind the chair and taking the handles. "I'll show you."

The way he said it made the trip to the car sound like an adventure, and despite her worry Penny smiled. "Okay," she said, leaning forward slightly and holding the arms of the chair. "Let's go!"

She could hear Leonard laugh as he pushed the chair forward, which made Penny smile. She let go of the chair's arms and rested her own on them instead, feeling more secure that way. Well, as secure as she could feel being this short. She wasn't used to having to look up at people walking by, and she for sure wasn't used to being shorter than Leonard at all, much less only coming up to his stomach.

They rounded the final corner and the automatic doors parted, leaving nothing between them and the cool air. The gargantuan van was parked at the curb, Howard standing beside it, trying to yank the door open. Penny smirked, even more so when she saw Bernadette come around the van and open the door in an instant. She gave Howard a pat on the back, shaking her head playfully at him.

Then she saw Penny, and her mouth fell open as she ran over. "Oh my God," she said, stopping in front of Penny and bending over, sliding her arms carefully around her. "Are you okay? Does it hurt? When will you walk again?"

"I am now, not anymore, and I have no idea," she said, answering all three questions in one sentence. "Where's Raj and Sheldon?"

Howard rolled his eyes. "Wackadoodle saw Wil Wheaton outside the comic book store, and the he called Amy to come help him as they play Counterfactuals with Wheaton and Stuart."

"That's more important than his best friend being hurt?" Penny said, pouting.

"I'm his best friend," Leonard protested.

"Let's call it a tie," she said.

"Deal."

"Well, let's get you in there," Bernadette said, gesturing to the van.

"That's what she said," Howard said, smirking. Bernadette gave him a confused look while Penny tried to hide her smirk. When Bernadette got the joke, she frowned. "Let's just get her home, okay?"

"I'm not going home," Penny said after a moment. She motioned to the wheelchair. "Stairs."

Bernadette nodded. "Ah. Right." She tapped her foot. "So where are we going to go?"

"There's a Super 8 a few blocks down the road," Leonard said. "So for at least the next three nights, she'll be there."

"That sucks," Howard said, raising an eyebrow.

Penny shrugged. "It's the best I can do. I don't want to stay in that hospital." She didn't want to stay in a hotel-she really, _really_ didn't want that, but all of her friends had stairs and no real room. The hotel was the best option-and it was only three nights, after all. Just a place to sleep.

Leonard had positioned the ramp-a sturdy piece of wood that had been strapped to the top of the van-at an angle that wasn't as slight as Penny would have wanted, but not too steep to be safe. "This look good?" He asked her. She nodded-it didn't look like it could get any better, anyway. "Okay," Leonard came back around and took hold of the chair. "Ready?"

She nodded, tensing up as the chair gave a small jerk while easing onto the ramp. "Stop! Stop Leonard, please!" She begged, panicking as she felt the chair tilt. He stopped moving and eased the chair back so her back was against him.

She felt his arms go to her shoulders. "What's the matter?" He asked. "The incline isn't that big."

She put her face in her hands. _Why did that freak me out?_ "Nothing, Leonard. Sorry. I'm just…paranoid about it tipping."

"It won't tip," he said quietly. "I promise."

"Aww, ain't that sweet," she heard Howard mutter to Bernadette. She gave them a glare and they looked away, pretending that they hadn't noticed.

"Ready?" Leonard asked, and she nodded. Then the chair was moving again, gliding smoothly up and into the van. There was another jolt as it exited the ramp, and then a few clicks to fasten it in place. "Now the wheels won't move at all," Leonard said, snapping the final clamp. "But we'll drive slowly."

"Will you sit there?" Penny asked, pointing to the seat just to the right and in front of her.

"Yeah, sure," Leonard said. "You'll need my strength if something does happen to the chair," he joked. Penny looked at him in confusion. "Sheldon says I'm the muscle in our little group."

Penny rolled her eyes. "Gotcha."

The front doors opened and Bernadette slid into the driver's seat, Howard settling in the passenger side. "Are we ready?" Bernadette asked. At Penny's nod, she started the car and carefully pulled out into the parking lot.

**I know this was a little long, sorry! Didn't want a slow chapter where nothing really happens.**

**Please review! (And ":D" or "Nice" is a comment, not a review. ;) Just saying.)**


	3. Better and Brighter

**Okay, this one is a little shorter. And it may appear pointless, but there's a point that I'm trying to get across here. I promise next chapter will have some one on one (but G-rated. :D ) Leonard/Penny interactions.**

**I still own nothing.**

"Well, this is a nice place," Howard said hesitantly as they stood in Penny's hotel room.

"Yeah," she said, nodding her head. The room was small, one bed, a desk, and a television. It was more than she needed really-and cheap, too. "I can stay here three days fo sho," she said, grinning. "But…I am going to need clothes and stuff." She felt horrible having to say it, because she knew that they'd immediately go and get all the things she needed.

"Don't worry," Leonard said, right on cue. "When they take me home, I'll get some stuff and drive back here."

"Oh, you really…" the _don't have to do that _stopped at Penny's lips. She really did need her things. "Thank you," she said, lowering her head.

"How many changes of clothes do you need?" Leonard asked.

"I'll be in charge of the clothes, Leonard," Howard said, nudging him over.

"You're not allowed anywhere near my bedroom," Penny said. "It has a restraining order out on you after the teddy bear incident." Howard sighed and stepped back. "Just a few sets," she said. "I'll only be here three days and I'm not going to be engaging in much during that time. Just don't forget my hairbrush."

"Will do," Leonard said.

Bernadette entered the room. "Howard, I gotta get the van back."

"Okay. Can you drop Leonard off at his place?" Howard asked, gesturing to his friend.

"If we leave in the next few minutes." Bernadette crossed the room and bent to give Penny another hug. "I wish I could stay and help you out."

"What's to help with?" Penny said lightheartedly. "Don't worry about it; you did enough giving me a ride." She smiled up at the other waitress, who returned the smile as she straightened. She looked at Howard and Leonard. "Are we ready?"

"Yep," Howard said. "Leonard?"

He was looking at Penny. "Yeah," he said, not moving. "Yeah, let's go. Penny, I'll be back as soon as possible, okay?"

"Sure."

"Do you need anything before we go?"

She smiled. "No, Leonard. But thank you."

The trio reached the door, Bernadette opened it, and they stepped into the hall. "Wait!" Penny called. Three heads leaned into the room, looking at her expectantly. "I really appreciate what you guys are doing," she said. "Just please know that."

* * *

When they were gone, Penny wheeled herself up to the bed. Luckily it was low. She placed her hands on the arms of the chair and tried to lift herself. She managed, but the chair rolled slowly back, and then forward, responding to her body trying to balance itself. Back and forth, jerking as it went. This wasn't a good idea. She dropped back into the chair. Biting her lip, Penny rolled up to the bed so she was facing it, and tried to pull herself up, figuring she could slide onto the bed on her stomach without moving her leg much. It soon became obvious that that wasn't going to work either. Dropping back into the chair while holding her leg out to reduce turbulence, Penny felt the tears well up again as she realized, for the first time, that _I am completely helpless._ "God," she said, putting her face in her hands and wanting to be out of there. Her shoulders started to shake as she sat there, in that room that suddenly seemed huge, had too much space, and just appeared cold and dark and unwelcoming. Such a different opinion from when she'd first entered the room with Leonard, Howard, and Bernadette.

Her friends. Of course, that made perfect sense.

Of course the room had looked better, brighter, when her friends were there, just as her mood was better and brighter when they were there. Everything was better and brighter when they were with her.

Penny gave a deep sigh. She was only a couple hours into recovery, and it already sucked.

**Review, please! I love reviews!**


	4. I Trust You

**Here's the next chapter. I know I've been updating quite a bit lately; unfortunately that's going to slow down for the next week or two. Maybe Saturday I'll get another chapter of something up, but schoolwork is going to be intense next week (I'm anticipating, anyway) so this is likely going to be the last update for a week or so.**

Leonard was back within the hour with her pink suitcase. "I have a few sets of clothes in here," he said, "and I tried to put stuff in here that I know you wear together. And I have a toothbrush and hairbrush." Penny nodded, looking out the window. "What's wrong?" Leonard asked.

"I broke my damn leg, Leonard, and you ask me _what is wrong_?"

"Sorry," he said, looking away. "You just seemed to be fine when we left, and I come back to find you like this…"

The part of Penny that was strong an independent didn't want to tell him, but the part of her that was tired and depressed won out. "I can't get myself into bed," Penny said. _I'm so damn helpless. _"And…I need to sleep, so…"

"Oh!" Leonard looked embarrassed that he hadn't realized that. "Here, let me help you." He moved toward her, stopping a pace away. "Are you ready to…actually go to bed?"

"Yeah," she said. "Not like I'm going to go jogging or anything." She wheeled up to the side of the bed. "Can you lift me?"

He nodded, setting down the suitcase. "Aren't you afraid of jostling your leg? Would you rather ease yourself onto it while I make sure the chair doesn't move? You'd control all your movements that way."

Penny thought about it, and then shook her head. "No." She looked up at him. "I trust you." He smiled back at her, neither of them moving for a moment. Then they snapped out of it. "Okay, let's do it," she said with forced cheer.

"I'm going to slide my arm under your knees, then you put your arms around my neck, okay?"

Penny nodded, and Leonard bent and eased his arms under her legs and behind her back. She curled her arms around his neck and clung to his hood when he straightened up and stepped around the chair to lay her gently on the bed. "Leonard?" Penny giggled. He looked at her in confusion. "You forgot to move the covers back."

He looked and realized that she was lying on a perfectly made bed. He smirked along with her. "Oops," he said, giving her that dorky grin. "Well, if we untuck them on this side, you should be able to slide under, right?" He went around the bed and pulled the covers back, and within two minutes, Penny was settled in. "That better?" He asked, smiling at her.

"Could you maybe do two more things for me?" Penny asked.

"Demanding today, aren't we?" He teased.

Penny knew he was joking, but she still felt a little bad. "Little things, don't worry." She reached behind her and took a pillow from the head of the bed. "Can you get this under my leg? They want it elevated." As Leonard took the pillow from her, she pointed to the small box resting on the table. "Bernadette got them to put that mini freezer in my room for the ice. Can you move it over here so I can get to it without getting up? I need to ice my leg every hour, remember?"

"Right." Leonard pulled the covers from the end of the bed and put the pillow down next to her leg. "Tell me if this hurts, okay?" Penny nodded. Leonard put a hand on her ankle and the other well above the break and lifted, using his elbow to nudge the pillow in place. "Comfy?" He asked, smiling as he pulled the covers back and moved to the fridge.

"Very," she said. "Thanks."

"What else can I do for you?" Leonard asked. "Need anything else? Want anything else?"

Penny toyed with the sheets. "Would it be possible for you to come here in the morning so I could get into the chair?"

"Yeah," Leonard said, nodding. "Sure, no problem. I hate leaving you here, though. Do you want me to try and get a room so I'll be here if you need anything?"

She sighed. "You're…you're so great, Leonard." He shifted uncomfortably. "But you don't need to do that. You're doing so much already. See you in the morning?"

He nodded. "Sure." Smiling, he turned to go. "Try to get some sleep, okay?"

* * *

When he was gone, the helpless, lonely feeling overcame Penny again. The room was so depressing, and she didn't want to be here alone in a chilly dark room with a broken leg that she had to ice every hour. She wasn't going to get any sleep.

Setting the alarm, Penny found herself just able to drift off when it would buzz again, and she'd have to sit up, grab the bad of ice, and leave it on her foot. She was exhausted, and every time her leg moved she froze, waiting for the pain, for the sign that she'd messed up and now needed surgery. That pain never came, but it didn't make her worry any less.

It was nearly midnight when her phone rang. Sheldon. Penny flipped the phone open. "Hello?"

Nothing. Penny frowned. Why was Sheldon calling her in the middle of the night? She'd assumed that Leonard told him of her injury, and that she was staying in the hotel, but unless he needed her to drive him somewhere or wanted to lecture her on adhesive stickers, she had no guess as to why he called. "Sheldon?"

There was another pause. Then she heard him, ever so quietly. "_Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur. Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr, purr, purr._"

There was a click as he hung up. Penny's eyes filled with tears and she put her hand to her face, trying to will the tears back. "I love you guys," she whispered into the darkness. She lay there quietly for a moment or two, and then sat up. Wiping her eyes, she flipped her phone open and dialed another number. When the ringing began, she pressed it to her ear, swallowing hard.

"Hello?"

"Leonard?" Penny asked, even though she knew it was him. "Sheldon just sang me Soft Kitty."

"Aw, did he? That's sweet…" she heard him trail off. "Are you crying?"

Penny was about to protest, to deny it, but she knew it was pointless. "Yes."

"You need to talk?"

Penny could tell from the background sounds that he was in bed, likely sitting up now. "I'm just so lonely here. At least my apartment is home, and even though I'm alone, I know you and Sheldon are right there." Her voice cracked. "When I left Nebraska some of my friends applauded how brave I was, and the truth is, I'm not brave at all. At least not anymore. Now I'm one hundred percent dependant on other people…" she sniffed. "I'm rambling, sorry. God!" She slammed her hand down on the bed. "I don't even sound like myself…"

"Penny?" Leonard's voice was full of concern. "Calm down, okay? Do you want me to come over there?"

Penny shook her head in the dark. "I don't know…I just can't sleep and…" Oh, she was lying to both of them-she wanted him there. "Yes. Can you come? Please?"

* * *

He knocked before he came in, although he knew she was expecting him. "Hey," he said giving her a small smile as he turned on the light. His heart sank when he saw her, with her red eyes and messed up hair and pale face. Clearly she'd had quite the night so far, the bag of ice lying on the bed next to her. He hated that she looked like that, stressed out and upset. "Hey," he said again, in what he hoped was a more comforting tone.

"Sorry I made you get out of bed," she said, looking away.

"You're more important than a few hours' sleep," he blurted before he could stop himself. Luckily, she was in such a state right now that she appeared to feel better at his words rather than feeling awkward. He grabbed the chair from the desk and pulled it up to the bed, sitting down beside her shoulders. "Now go to sleep," he said. "I'll worry about your leg."

"I can't sleep," she said. "I'll move around without knowing and hurt myself."

"No you won't," he said. "I'll make sure of it."

"I can't let you-"

"Shhh," he said firmly. "You look exhausted; go to sleep."

"You mean it?"

"Hey," he said sternly. "You made me come over here, you're going to let me help you."

She smiled. "Fair enough." She yawned, her eyes burning with exhaustion.

"One thing, before you do that," Leonard said. Penny looked at him curiously. "I just have a question that I've been meaning to ask you about."

"Okay."

He smiled at her. "You fell from the third floor to the second…how in the world did you manage the corner?"

Penny thought about it. "I…I guess I'm just that good."

Leonard smirked. "I'm going to turn off the light, okay?"

She nodded, pulling the covers up to her chin. "You'll make sure I don't hurt my leg?"

"I won't fall asleep," he promised. "Your snoring will keep me awake."

**Review, please! If you want to, that is!**


	5. Kiara and Kovu

**This one is-gets-a little more lighthearted. Leonard and Penny out having a good time. Hope you like it!**

**I still own nothing. How depressing is that?**

Leonard's phone buzzed quietly in his pocket. It was time. Raising his head from where it rested on the edge of the bed, he shook it back and forth to try and rouse himself. It was three forty-five.

He opened his cell phone and set it on the desk, giving the immediate area a little light. Penny was lying on her back, her head tilted in his direction. She was still a little to pale for Leonard to not worry about her, but the fact that she was asleep made him happy. And she was still beautiful.

Rising from his seat, Leonard opened the freezer and retrieved the bag of ice. He walked to the edge of the bed and slid the sheets up enough to show the entire temporary cast. He positioned the ice carefully over where he knew the break was and let it sit.

He pulled his chair over to the foot of the bed and sank down on hit, staring at Penny's leg. He hated knowing what that cast was trying to heal-her bone snapping in half, her leg lying in two pieces. It wasn't even healed yet; it had happened less than twenty four hours ago. Just two pieces of bone that had failed Penny on the stairs, rendering her unable to get around.

Leonard shook his head again, trying to get the thought out of his head. It wouldn't help anything.

Penny shifted her weight, but didn't wake up. At least she was getting some rest. Leonard tapped his foot. He knew that she hated having to stay in this place…if only there was some way to get her to her apartment. There had to be…but he'd gone over every scenario in his head already, and there wasn't a way-a way using present day technology, that is-that they could get her up there while she was in a wheelchair.

* * *

"Where do you want to go?" Leonard asked.

Penny thought about it. She'd been up a half an hour and had managed to go to the bathroom without needing Leonard to help her in and out of the chair-then again, the toilet was a lot lower than the bed. Then she'd managed to dress herself, somewhat. There was the awkward moment where she had to ask Leonard to slide her skirt off and help her get her new one over the cast, but what other choice did she have? As he eased the skirt over her legs, Penny was silently grateful that she wasn't staying with Howard.

Now she was back in the wheelchair and wondering what she was going to do with her day. "Don't you have to work?" She asked Leonard.

He shook his head. "Weekend."

"Right." Penny tapped her fingers on the arms of the chair. "Can we just go to the park? Away from buildings?"

Leonard smiled at her. "Sure," he said. "Then we can get those nachos from that older man by the pond."

"You're really going to spend the day with me?" Penny asked incredulously. When Leonard nodded, she felt like her smile was too large for her face. "_Really_?"

He looked confused for a moment, and then smiled. "Really."

"You're the sweetest guy in the world," she said, grabbing his hand and giving it a quick kiss. When she realized what she'd done, she let go of his hand as if it had suddenly become radioactive. _Damn it!_ She thought. _You just get in habits when you're dating someone, and then it gets awkward…_Penny glanced at Leonard, who smiled at her and moved around to the back of the wheelchair. He hadn't found it awkward. Penny was relieved.

* * *

"Are you cold?" she heard Leonard ask.

Penny tipped her head up to see him. "A little."

"Do you want to wear my blanket?"

"Out in public?" Penny looked at him for a moment, then realized she didn't care what she looked like. "Sure."

Leonard stopped the chair and pulled his blanket out of the book bag attached to the back. "Here you go," he said, helping her arms into the sleeves. He tucked the bottom in around her feet, being careful of the cast. "If the bottom comes undone and it starts to drag, let me know, okay?"

"Okay," Penny agreed. She put her hands in her lap. The blanket was really comfortable, and most people were bundled up today anyway; it was cold for that time of year. "I feel like you're pushing a stroller instead of a wheelchair," she joked, looking up at him again. He grinned and shook his head at her. She grinned back and looked forward again. Aside from the chill, it was a really nice day, with sun and a gentle breeze. The breeze didn't feel so gentle with the temperature, but one had to be fair.

"Where do you want to go?" Leonard asked. "By the pond, over by the horseshoe pits?"

"Everywhere!" Penny said in the same tone that Leonard had used in the hospital when he made finding Bernadette's car sound like an adventure. "Let's explore!" Leonard laughed at her enthusiasm.

They took all the paths, the ones that wandered around for a few minutes before returning to the main path, and the ones that went to the other side of the park and back. When the ground was flat, Penny practiced moving herself, and when the ground rose or fell in a hill, Leonard took over again. Penny felt good to be outside, not worrying about a work schedule.

When they stopped to ice her leg around noon, Leonard got Penny nachos from the usual vendor. "This is fun," she said, taking a chip. "But what are the other guys doing today?"

"Kite fighting-the three of them against Stuart, Lonely Larry, and Wil Wheaton."

"Oh God," Penny said. "Not that bastard."

"We can go watch if you want."

Penny shook her head. "Stuart's been wierding me out recently." As true as that was, the real reason Penny didn't want to go was she really, really didn't want to run into Wil Wheaton again. She hated that guy, for everything he'd done to Sheldon and, well, for what he'd done to her and Leonard, too. By the time she'd realized exactly what he'd done, though, it was months later and too late to do anything about it. "Plus, that's all the way on the other side of the park, isn't it?"

"Are you tired?" He asked.

She was about to say no, but then nodded. "A little. But we don't have to go to the hotel yet, do we?"

"Of course not," he said. "We haven't gone up the hill yet, have we?"

"The big one by the flag pole?" Penny had forgotten about it. "Let's go!" She spun the chair around and took off, taking advantage of the decline to get far ahead of Leonard. He was able to catch up to her a few minutes later when she stopped before the big hill's incline. "Yeah, I definitely can't make that," she said as he ran up, panting.

"I don't know that I'm going to push you, after you scooted off," he joked. "I thought you were tired!" Penny pouted. "I'm kidding," he said, disappearing from her view. A moment later she felt the chair starting to move forward.

At the top of the hill, Penny and Leonard were surprised to find no one else there. It was just the flagpole surrounded by flowers, the plaque with the lyrics to The Star Spangled Banner scratched on the front. It was just the few small trees that surrounded the hill, appearing shorter than they were because of the difference in elevation. It was just them.

"Do you want to get out of the chair?" he asked.

"Is that safe?" Penny questioned. "My temporary cast…"

"It'd be like getting you onto the bed," he said, shrugging. "And you'd get out of the chair."

As afraid as she was of hurting herself more, the thought of getting out of the chair made Penny very happy. "Okay," she agreed. Leonard secured the chair and helped her up, so she was standing on her good leg. Moving behind her, Leonard let Penny lean back against him as she bent her good leg and eased herself onto her back. Leonard bunched up the blanket with sleeves and put it under her head. "I like this," she said, looking up at the sky. "Have you ever played the cloud game?"

She knew her voice sounded more high pitched than usual, so she wasn't surprised when Leonard looked at her. "Are you high?"

"As you provided me with all my food today, I think you'd know the answer," she said. "But seriously, cloud game? Ringing any bells?" When Leonard still looked confused, Penny rolled her eyes. She remembered watching the second Lion King movie with her nephew. At one point, Kiara was trying to get Kovu involved in a game of tag. _"You run…I tag…get it? What's the matter, don't you know how to play?" _"All right, Leonard," she said firmly, patting the ground next to her. "Lay down. We're playing the cloud game."

Leonard looked hesitant, but he eased himself onto his back beside her. "What do we do now?" he asked, glancing over at her curiously.

Penny pointed. "That one is a duck. See? The body, the leg hanging down to help swim, the beak?"

Leonard cocked his head. "If you say so."

"Come on, look at it!" She scooted her head closer to his so they could view the cloud from the same angle. "Head, body, legs…_beak._"

"Oh!" Leonard nodded. "There it is." He glanced at another cloud. "A carbon atom!"

Penny cocked her head. "Where?"

He pointed. "That one."

All Penny could see was a puffy cloud. "Are there enough puffs for all the subat…the little particles?"

"Yes!" he said, nodding vigorously. "Exactly enough." He tipped his head toward her. "This is fun!"

**Next chapter will move on with the broken leg storyline…but hey, the fic is about him taking care of her…and he kinda did that in this chapter, right? :D**


	6. Pink

**I still own squat. Maybe I own the nurse and doctor, but as I didn't bother to name them…they're not that important. :D**

"I hate hospitals," Penny complained as she wheeled herself through the door and into the waiting room. "Beige walls, ugly paintings of flowers, that disgusting clean smell."

"Is it worse than the awful air freshener in the motel room?" Leonard asked, grinning. It had been such an awful scent that they'd opted for hoofing it to the hospital-only two blocks away-than getting Bernadette's van back for the return trip. They weren't expecting Penny to have to wheel out of there, anyway.

Penny paused. That air freshener _was_ pretty awful. "Let's call it a tie."

Leonard rolled his eyes. "Everything with you is a tie recently," he commented.

"Eh, I'd say about half the time," she joked.

They went up to the front desk and checked in with the elderly receptionist. "It'll be about ten minutes," she informed them.

"Half an hour. Got it," Penny grumbled.

"It won't be that bad," Leonard said.

"Stop being such a proton," she snapped.

"Let's just sit down," he said, then did a double take. "Nice!"

She smiled. "Thank you." She wheeled after Leonard as he located a seat. "At least I don't have to sit in one of those hard chairs."

"They're not that bad," Leonard said. Penny raised an eyebrow. "Okay, you are lucky," he admitted. "So what color cast are you getting?"

Penny shrugged. "Why bother thinking about that? I may need surgery. That's what I'm worrying about the most right now."

"I think you'll be okay," Leonard said. "You haven't done anything to hurt it, haven't fallen, haven't put weight on it. The temporary was there in the first place to hold it through whatever minor jostling occurred getting in and out of the wheelchair." He smiled at her. "So I wouldn't worry about that."

Penny felt happier as she realized that he was right. There was a very good chance that she'd be coming out of the hospital that day already healing. "In that case…I'm going to go with pink, because I'm happy to be going home."

"I am, too," Leonard agreed. "I can go home at night and not sleep for forty minutes at a time in a chair."

Penny grew serious in an instant. "I hope you know just how much I appreciate that."

"Wouldn't you do the same for me?" He asked.

"In an instant," she said, looking up at him. Their eyes met and held for several Mississippis. "So," she blurted in an attempt to end the silence. "You went home for a while yesterday, right?" She phrased it as a question despite knowing the answer. "How did the kit right with Wil Wheaton go?"

"I asked, and Sheldon's response was a very creepy hissing of his name, so I'm guessing not too well. I'll get the details later today, I guess."

"Ah." Penny looked down at her hands. "Hey, when I get home, can you paint my nails? They're really chipped and gross."

"I need to run to work for a few hours, but I can do it when I bring you food, okay?"

"Sure. Okay." Penny bit her lip. She'd forgotten about his job. Shifting in her chair, she glanced down at the floor. The past sixty hours Leonard had been her constant companion, and in an hour or two she'd be all alone again. At least she'd be in her own home.

"Hey," Leonard said gently. "We're going to spend as much time with you as possible, Sheldon and I. You won't go stir crazy, I promise."

She managed a smile, hoping that her disappointment wasn't showing on her face. Of course Leonard had to get back to work, his own life. After today she wouldn't need him there all the time anyway…at least not by a doctor's definition.

A door opened, and a nurse peered out, beckoning to Penny. She wheeled forward, hearing Leonard get up to follow. "Here we go," she said with clearly forced enthusiasm.

The nurse led them into an examination room and helped Penny up onto the table. "Now just hold as still as you can," she said as another woman entered the room. "There will be a minute or two when there is no cast of any kind on your leg, and it's important that you don't move it around. Okay?"

Penny reached out and held onto the edge of the bed. "Okay," she said in the high-pitched voice. "Leonard?"

"Yeah?" He said from where he was sitting, less than five feet away.

"Come here," she said, her voice going even higher.

"Penny, relax, it's fine," he said, shaking his head at her. He got up anyway, though, and stood next to her. "Hand?"

Penny let go of the bed and grabbed onto him. "I can't look," she said, burying her face in his sleeve. She could feel the air on her leg-it felt cold since it had been wrapped up for several days. Then, suddenly, she felt the last layer of bandage pulling away, and her leg was fully exposed. She peered at it out of the corner of her eye. At first glance, it looked no different, not even any paler. But it felt different, like something that had been added to her body as an afterthought. Because of that, her leg looked smaller to her.

"What color?" The second woman asked, holding out a rod that had a piece of each mounted upon it. Penny pointed to the bright pink, and the first woman opened a cabinet and took out a box.

Penny turned her face toward Leonard again. "Relax," he said. "They're not doing surgery."

"Thank God," she said, giving a heavy sigh. "I just don't want to look at it, okay?"

"I don't blame you," Leonard said. She felt his other hand come to rest on her head for a moment, and then he snatched it back. She wanted to tell him that it was okay, but the words wouldn't come.

When the second woman said, "okay, it looks good," Penny turned from Leonard to look down the table at her leg. The bright pink cast wrapped around her foot and stopped just below the knee. The white padding showed at the top of the cast, and likely showed at the opening at the bottom too; she just couldn't see it.

"See?" Leonard said. "That wasn't so bad."

"No." Penny shook her head. "It wasn't. So," she said, looking at the two women, "that's it? No surgery?"

"Things are looking good," said the second woman, who Penny guessed was a doctor. "I examined the leg while the cast was off and nothing moved this weekend. You took good care of yourself."

Penny smiled up at Leonard. "He took care of me." She squeezed his hand, and then let it go.

"We'll get you crutches when you leave today, and we'll get you an appointment for a cast change in a few weeks. We'll monitor your progress then."

"Sounds good," Penny said.

They were able to leave the hospital less than a half an hour later, after the nurse was confidant in Penny's ability to handle crutches. She'd been shaky at first, but was getting used to it. "I can sit in the front seat again!" She exclaimed when she met Leonard at the curb; he'd gone to get his car from the motel while she was practicing walking. "I'm excited!"

He got out of the car to help her in, then put the crutches in the back seat. "At least now we'll get you up the stairs," he said. "It'll be good for you-and for me, for that matter-to be able to sleep in our own beds.

"My bed," Penny said, almost dreamily. "I've missed it." She closed her eyes, picturing it. "Ah," she said happily. She opened her eyes to see Leonard shaking his head in playful annoyance. "Shut up, you…" luckily she was able to stop the playful _know you love me_ in time. "You can't even talk. You miss your bed too."

"I can't argue with that," he agreed, flipping on his turn signal and easing onto their street.

When they reached the apartment building, Leonard parked in the space closest to the door and exited the vehicle. He grabbed Penny's crutches and carried them to the passenger door for her.

"What a gentleman," she said playfully, positioning the crutches under her arms. As Leonard shut the car door, Penny looked up, straight up at her building. She smiled. It wasn't the fanciest place around, but it was her home.

**I wasn't planning on ending it there, but then the chapter would end up being 3K or more, so…yeah, didn't want to do that, that's for sure!**

**Please review! And please remember that ":D" "awesome" and/or "nice, update," is a comment, not a review. Writers work hard at their chapters and I'm sure I'm not the only one that appreciates reviews that didn't take two seconds to type.**


	7. What Friends Do

**Okay, here's the next chapter! (Or the next "episode" as Tizzy calls them!) The "more in later chapters" part of my summary is going to start happening-soon. **

**Aaaaaand I still own…wait for it…nothing.**

"Welcome home!"

Penny jumped, and then smiled. Sheldon, Howard, and Raj were congregated by the mailboxes. As Sheldon and Howard yelled the greeting, Raj blew on a kazoo. Seeing them made Penny's throat tighten just a little. They were busy people, and with Raj and Howard given the task of Sheldon Management while Leonard was with Penny, they hadn't had time to visit her. It was amazing how long three days could feel…and they would have felt much longer if Leonard had been one of the ones she hadn't seen. "Hey guys!" She said, smiling.

Sheldon rushed forward and hugged her. "Careful!" Penny heard Leonard cry as one of Penny's crutches crashed to the ground. She wobbled momentarily, then felt Leonard's hands on her elbows, steadying her as she returned Sheldon's hug. "Thanks," she said to Leonard. "Hey, Shelly."

Howard came over, picking up the fallen crutch and handing it to Penny as she and Sheldon separated. "We made you a pie. Tried to, anyway-there are no scientific formulas to baking and so it went way over Crazy's head." He shook his head at Sheldon. "It's upstairs in Leonard's apartment."

"Aren't you guys going to hang out?" Penny asked, pouting.

"Later," Howard said. "We have to work, remember? We just thought we'd come over and see you before you left."

Penny raised an eyebrow. "What's your angle? What's in the pie?"

"Apples," Sheldon said. "Plus whatever else goes in pies."

Penny rolled her eyes. "Good to hear."

"We gotta get going," Howard said, glancing at the door. "We're coming over later for Wii Bowling. Leonard, when are you getting to work?"

"An hour or so," he said. "I have to get Penny settled in first."

Howard and Raj nodded, and smiled at Penny. "Let's go," Howard said to Sheldon.

Leonard watched them go, and then turned to Penny. "Ready to tackle the stairs?"

Penny pretended to think, then nodded. "How are we going to do this?"

"How do you want to?" He asked.

Penny hobbled up to the stairs and raised a crutch to judge the space. "I think I can make it if I go slow," she said, glancing up to the landing. "Could you maybe walk behind me just in case?"

"So if you fall, both of us will tumble down the stairs and not just you?"

Penny hadn't thought of that, and was about to apologize for her thinking when she noticed the grin on Leonard's face. "Shut up," she said. "I'm not going to fall. It'd just make me feel safer."

"Don't worry," he said. "You won't fall. You're not as much of a klutz as I am."

"No one rivals you," she joked. "Okay, let's do this." She placed both crutches up on the step, and hopped up. "That's one." Place, hop. "Two." Repeat. "Three."

She stopped counting them aloud, because the higher up she went, the more focused she was on staying balanced. It was an irrational thought process, of course-the steps were identical-but the increased falling distance had a direct correlation to Penny's anxiety. Leonard seemed to know, touching her sides gently as they climbed higher. Penny wasn't really afraid-she knew he'd stop her from falling if she did have a misstep, but feeling his hands on her sides made her feel safer. She wanted to thank him, but that would be too formal. This was what…_friends_ did.

It seemed to take forever to get to the fourth floor, but when they did, Penny lifted her crutches off of the ground and twirled on her good foot, feeling foolishly comfortable with her center of balance. She wavered coming to a stop, but of course Leonard was there to catch her. "I'm going to be terrified leaving you alone," he joked. "You're going to get yourself killed."

"I'll be careful when I'm alone," Penny said, grinning. "I just know that you'll save me when you're here."

He smiled at her. Suddenly, she realized that he was still holding her arms from when he'd caught her. She turned red and stood up straight, but once again Leonard didn't appear to find their prolonged touch awkward.

Suddenly Penny realized why. He'd loved her once…maybe he did now; she wasn't sure, but she knew that he did at one point. They hadn't done anything romantic in the past few days-the kiss on the hand wasn't necessarily hinting at anything; she'd kissed his cheek on occasion before they ever got together. Leonard was so warm and loving and genuine-and spending all this time with Penny felt like the most natural thing in the world to him. Leonard had never been loved, and his way of dealing with it was to love everyone he cared about with his whole heart.

"Sometimes I wish I could be like you," she said.

Leonard raised his chin slightly, furrowing his brow. "Where did that come from?"

Penny just then realized they were still standing in the hallway. "I was…I zoned out, sorry." She smiled at him. "Do you have the spare key to my apartment?"

"Oh, right!" Leonard fumbled in his pocket. Penny hobbled over to her apartment door and kissed it, not even feeling odd doing so until she heard Leonard's voice. "What are you doing?"

"Nothing," she said, turning as best she could and feeling her face grow red.

Leonard shook his head, inserting the key and opening the door. "You're such a silly girl."

Penny loved being called a girl; it made her feel young and adorable. She moved into her apartment, Leonard following her and shutting the door. Her place looked exactly the same, and she loved it. Moving over to the love seat, she leaned back and let herself free fall onto it. She gave a loud sigh of contentment as her crutches clattered to the floor.

She saw Leonard grinning at her from just inside the door. Whenever she collapsed on the couch when they were dating, he'd always run over and fall on top of her, tickling her until she couldn't breathe. Today, he walked slowly over to her, sank down on his knees beside the couch, and poked her in the side where he knew she was most ticklish. Penny giggled, pushing his hand away. He came at her with the other hand, wiggling his fingers against her stomach. "Stop!" she said jokingly, swatting at him. This wasn't their usual game, the hard core tickle attack that ended it a make out, but if this was the friends' version, Penny could live with it.

"Do you want any food before heading to work?" He asked after another minute, leaning back so he was balanced on his knees.

"I could eat, but you can't cook," she reminded him.

"You want to make some more gross French toast?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Shut up." Penny sat up and pulled her hair back, away from her face. "I'll probably just read the magazines that I didn't get to at the hotel."

"Oh, dammit," Leonard said, rising. "They're in the car. I'll go get them."

"No, no," Penny said. "You can bring them up when you bring the food. I have plenty else to do. I might even sleep, since it's my own bed again."

"That's probably a good idea," he said, nodding. "that way you can be up and alert for Wii bowling."

"I am going to kick some Sheldon Cooper a…" the last word trailed off as Penny yawned. "Guess that's my signal to go to sleep. Wanna carry me to my room?"

Leonard looked down at her, then toward the living room. "If you want."

Penny smiled warmly at him. "No, I can make it. But thanks." She glanced at her crutches, out of reach. "You could help me up, though." She reached out her hand and took Leonard's as he backed up for leverage. "Grab my crutches?"

Leonard bent and retrieved them, and Penny hobbled into her room. "Oh, beautiful bed," she said, falling down on it and rolling on her back.

"Don't get too confidant with that cast, okay?" Leonard said cautiously. "When they put them on, they don't expect you to dance around." He glanced at his watch. "I really need to run. Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

She sighed, as if his request was such a burden. "Okay."

Leonard came over to the bed and picked up the crutches that Penny had so carelessly dropped on the floor. He set them up against her dresser, and then looked down at her. Suddenly, he bent down and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. "See you later," he said, exiting her bedroom. A few seconds later she heard the outside door open and shut.

Penny rolled on her side, part of her thinking about the fact that _he had just kissed her_ and part of her wanting to sleep and think about the kiss when she wasn't as tired. The latter part won out. She was asleep within a dozen Mississippis.

**Hope you liked it! I was going to include more Sheldon/Howard/Raj in this chapter, but frankly, I'm too tired to work out the dialogue. So maybe the next chapter I'll put them in. We'll see how it all works out.**


	8. Come Here

**Next update! No joke, this took me two hours to type. For some reason I found it really hard, because Leonard and Penny wanted their relationship status to move faster than I want it to. :D**

**Still own nothing!**

Despite Leonard's promise that she wouldn't go crazy, Penny found herself doing just that. She'd only been home three days and she hadn't left the fourth floor. Sure, she'd gone from 4B to 4A and back again, but she was afraid to leave her floor, especially without Leonard to help her down the stairs.

He was keeping his promise and spending every waking moment that he wasn't working with her. Her nails were shiny pink and today's mail was on her coffee table. But he was working so many hours…not any more than usual, but it felt to Penny like he was gone for days at a time. And despite the promises of Sheldon to keep her company, it didn't change that he worked the same hours as Leonard. So every day she was alone. And she couldn't go jogging, couldn't even go for a proper walk. And alone and lonely may not be interchangeable, but in this case, she was both.

The kiss Leonard had given her three days before had been quick, polite, and on her forehead, but put a match to one piece of dried timothy and suddenly the entire haystack is on fire. Suddenly Penny wasn't okay with him touching her hands only to paint the nails. She didn't want him touching her elbows to keep her balanced. She didn't want him kissing her forehead. And she certainly _didn't_ want him pulling his hand back when it came to rest on the top of her head. Pulling her blue and white blanket over her, Penny momentarily wished for a hugging machine.

There was a knock at the door. "Come in!" She called quickly, sitting up. A second later, Leonard appeared in the threshold. Penny was glad it was him; she'd have been so disappointed if it wasn't. "Hey," she said. "You got the food?"

"Yep!" He said cheerfully, holding up a bag. "The occasional steak." He sat down on the love seat and pulled out the two boxes, setting them on the counter and opening both. "Which one?"

Penny studied them, and then pointed. "That one."

They ate in silence for a while, and then slipped into the conversations that came so easily to them. Watching Leonard smile, watching him laugh and laughing with him, made Penny suddenly feel even more alone than when he wasn't there. She put her nearly finished dish on the table and leaned against the arm of the couch.

"Are you okay?" Leonard asked, looking over at her.

"Yeah," she said with her eyes closed. "I'm fine."

She couldn't see him, but Penny knew that Leonard was looking at her. "No, you're not," he said.

H e knew her too well, but it didn't stop Penny from doing what she always did when it came to him: denying. "Leonard," she said, opening her eyes and trying to look slightly annoyed. "I'm totally fine." She gave him what she hoped was a believable smile. "I'm just tired. I tried doing girl pushups today to stay in shape. Turns out my bad knee won't cooperate."

"That darn knee," he said, jokingly reaching out to tap her kneecap. "Oh, did you see the mail I dropped off while you were sleeping?"

"Yeah," Penny said, moving her steak box aside and showing him the stack underneath. "I think I got one of your magazines, though." She pulled out a copy of _Wii Win_. "Or did you just mix up our mail when you brought it up?"

"I probably mixed them up," he said, taking the magazine and flipping it open. "Now that I think about it, I think there is a _People_ lying on my coffee table."

Penny smiled back; trying to hide the slight angst she was feeling. They were sitting much like this when he'd told her about the hugging machine, and her thoughts of it earlier brought back that conversation. She really needed a hug right now…and come to think of it; she didn't need a dressmaker's mannequin. She had _him_ right here.

Penny looked over. "Leonard?"

He looked up from his magazine. "Yeah?"

She sighed, looking down at her knees. "Would it be out of line for me to ask you to hold me?"

Her question was so far out in left field for someone who didn't know her thoughts. Leonard raised his chin a fraction, surprised and confused. "What?"

Penny shook her head. "I'm sorry, it's stupid." She closed her eyes and looked away. No one had held her in a long time, she missed her family, she missed the closeness that she used to have with Leonard, and she wanted to be physically close to someone who she knew cared about her.

Leonard put his magazine down and moved closer to her. "No, it's not," he said gently. "Come here." All Penny had to do to "come here" was lean the other way, and she did, slumping against him and closing her eyes. She felt his arms come around her and hold her in place. "Better?" Leonard asked.

_You have no idea. _"Yeah," she said, letting out a content sigh.

Leonard heard that sigh and answered with a silent one of his own. He tightened his hold on her ever so slightly; he wanted to rest his head atop hers, but was afraid that it would be too intimate, too close to what they were before for Penny and she'd pull away. He didn't want her to pull away. When he'd put his arms around her and felt her head on his shoulder and her body against his chest it felt like there was a void in his existence that had been filled, and he didn't want that feeling to go away.

One of her hands was pinned by her body so it rested against his stomach. The other was on his knee. He couldn't see either of her hands, but he knew exactly where they were, just as he knew that her head was on his shoulder, and as he knew her left leg was against his right one. He cherished their touch, from her forehead; down past where her right hand lay on his knee and to where he could feel against his leg where her solid bone stopped and the cast began.

"Thank you," she whispered after a minute or two of silence. Leonard loosened his hold on her, just in case that was her way of ending the embrace. But she didn't move. Leonard tightened his arms around her again, and he felt her adjust the position of her head as she scooted closer. "I am so, _so_ lucky you're in my life."

"You, too," he said warmly. Penny pulled back and looked at him, and for an instant Leonard was afraid he had done something wrong. She tilted her head slightly and studied him; the intense look in her eyes made Leonard want to hold her gaze and look away at the same time. Then she yawned so unexpectedly that both of them chuckled. "I'd better go to bed," she said. "It's getting late."

"Yeah," Leonard said. He stood up, holding out his hand. "Need assistance?"

She grinned, putting her hand in his and allowing him to pull her to her feet. The day before she'd abandoned her crutches when he was around; now he picked them up and held them in his right hand while she put her right arm around his shoulders. His right arm around her waist protectively, they half walked, half hopped to Penny's room.

When she was tucked in and her crutches were within reach, Leonard went to her door and turned off the light. "See you tomorrow," he said affectionately.

**Whew! That was tiring!**


	9. Split Ends

**Wow, once again, a two hour ordeal for a chapter. Man, I can't focus! On this, or my homework, which I'm doing the other half of the time. :D**

Penny woke up with a nasty itch on her leg, just inside of her cast. She turned her hand so her palm was facing up, then scratched with her fingernail. It was amazing how much she had to adapt to with the cast; how much she had to change.

Looking down at the cast, Penny realized that no one had signed it yet. True, when her older sister had broken her am she hadn't wanted anyone to sign it, saying that she was too old for that. Penny didn't care; she'd never broken anything as a kid and wanted to get the most she could out of it now.

Penny sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She stood on her right leg and grabbed the crutches, positioning them under her arms. She hated the crutches. They made her feel like a cripple, and as she'd always tried to be independent, relying on the props did _wonders_ for her self esteem. Not to mention she hadn't fully gotten the hang of them yet; she felt awkward hobbling about.

When she managed to get to the kitchen, Penny opened her fridge and found absolutely nothing that she wanted to eat. "Ugh," she said, wrinkling her nose. She slammed the door of the fridge and went over to the couch, flipping on the television.

"Of course there's nothing on," she said, tossing the remote down. "Of course. _God_!" Feeling suddenly and unexplainably angry, she picked the remote back up and spiked it. "_God!_"

"Oh, lord, not that again." She heard someone say from the hallway.

"There's no one else over there," came the response.

It took her a moment to realize what Sheldon meant, and feeling the sudden need to correct his assumption. She struggled to her feet and wobbled quickly to the door, flinging it open. "Hey, guys!"

Sheldon looked surprised to see her; Leonard simply looked at his roommate and said, "I told you."

"Hello, Penny," Sheldon said politely.

"Whatcha doing?" Penny asked.

"I'm driving Sheldon to work," Leonard said. "Then I'm coming home and we're going to get you a haircut."

Penny perked up. "A haircut? Really?" She furrowed her eye brows. "What about your work?"

"I'm taking the day off," he said. "You need to get off of this floor."

"Oh, Leonard," she said, shaking her head. "You don't have to do that; I'm fine."

"Yesterday you noticed you had split ends and burst into tears."

Sheldon started. "How is that a valid reason for bursting into tears?"

Leonard opened his mouth, and then closed it again, shaking his head. "Just get in the car."

When Sheldon was gone, Leonard turned to Penny. "You up for it?"

Penny felt a big grin spread across her face. "Yeah!"

"Okay," he said, smiling back at her. "I'll be over to get you in about forty."

"Okay," she said, turning to re-enter her apartment. Then she turned back around. "Wait, really?" At Leonard's nod, she thanked him and returned to her living room happy.

* * *

Penny thanked the young woman who had cut her hair and smiled at her reflection. She didn't necessarily look younger, but…Penny shook her head. There was no way a haircut could look optimistic. Penny figured it was her happiness at getting out of the apartment building reflecting on her opinions of her hairstyle. But she didn't care; her hair looked good and she was feeling even better. Positioning her crutches, she headed out into the lobby.

Leonard was sitting in one of the plastic waiting chairs, his hand on the top of a child's toy that required them to move a ball through a maze of wires. "It's the path that goes along the tangent, see. The one you're trying to move down will end in this corner."

The child he was talking to was a boy of maybe three. He looked at Leonard in confusion. "What three year old can't get this?" He mumbled under his breath.

"He can barely identify the primary colors," said a lady sitting two chairs away. "And he thinks hair is valuable and we come here every six weeks so we don't lose the house. Again." Leonard gave her an odd look. "My husband drinks a lot," she said.

"Ah." Leonard looked away so the pair wouldn't see his what-the-hell look. It was then he saw Penny, who raised an eyebrow and cocked her head, playfully seductive. He took in her new haircut and nodded, smiling. "Nice."

"Thank you," she said.

Leonard paid the lady at the counter, who gave Penny a coupon. "See you next time," the woman said cheerfully as Penny and Leonard left the building. Penny craned her head around and smiled; she couldn't wave.

"So," Leonard said on the drive home, "do you like it?"

Penny glanced at her reflection in the mirror. "Yeah. Do you?"

He glanced at her. "Yeah. It makes you look…" he frowned. "You really can't use 'optimistic' when describing a haircut, can you?"

"Eh, I think you can," she said, nodding.

"Maybe it's because you look…less restrained."

She raised an eyebrow. "Less restrained?" She shook her head. "I don't feel restrained…what are you doing?"

Leonard pulled off of the road and put the car in park in front of an Olive Garden. "Penny, you're not fooling anyone. You hate being on the fourth floor all the time. You can deny all you want, but I know you're going crazy up there, and remember, I promised that you wouldn't."

Penny smiled. "What does this have to do with anything?"

He sighed. "I want you to stop telling me 'oh, you don't have to do that. Oh, Leonard, I'm doing fine.' I have weeks of vacation days saved up, and I'm going to use them to get you out of that apartment building and into the world. I don't want to hear that I don't have to. I _want_ to, because believe me, as much as you insist that you're doing 'just great', I know you spike things to the floor in frustration whenever you try to get around quickly or do something that now requires much more effort. Don't you?" He looked at Penny with a raised eyebrow, and nodded as she felt her face turn red. "I thought so."

Penny dipped her head and smiled. "Can I tell you one more time that I really appreciate it?"

"You're not giving me much of a choice there, are you?" He asked, smiling.

She thought about it. "No," she giggled. "I guess not."

Leonard shook his head at her giggle, putting the car back into drive and pulling out onto the street. "Do you want to go anywhere else today?"

Penny shook her head. "I can honestly say no. I didn't sleep well last night and the fresh air…" she yawned. "It makes me tired."

* * *

The rest of the way home, Penny kept checking her reflection in the car mirror. She really did like her hair. It had a slight bounce to it that it hadn't had before. She shook her head slightly, letting it dance around her face.

"You really like it, don't you?" Leonard asked a few minutes later as he helped Penny out of the car and handed her the crutches.

She blushed a little bit. "Was I looking a bit vain?"

"I forgive you," he said, laughing. "Okay, let's go." He held both sets of doors for her.

Once in the lobby, Penny faced the stairway with her usual dread. As much as she loved leaving the apartment and going outside, it always required about a million steps down and a million steps up again. She hated the stairs, there were so many and her way of 'walking' was just so tiring. She gave a deep sigh; no matter how much fun she had while outside, returning home was time consuming and depressing.

She heard Leonard close his mailbox and walk to her side. She saw him looking at her in her peripheral vision. She wondered if he knew how much she hated this, her limited mobility, her itchy leg, the way that everything took longer.

"Hey," she heard him say. "I got an idea."

She turned to him, feeling a similar reaction to when he'd made the trip to Bernadette's van seem like an adventure. "What?"

He took her crutches from her and leaned them against the wall, straightening to adjust the position of his jacket. Suddenly, Penny thought she knew what he was getting at, and her jaw dropped even as she felt the grin. "Are you serious?"

He shrugged. "Why not?"

"Can you…that's a lot of stairs…"

"Come on," he said, purposefully looking overconfidant. "I'm the muscle, remember?"

She grinned, hopping around him so she stood just behind. She put her hands on his shoulders. "Okay, I'm going to life my left leg…" She felt his left hand take ahold of her leg at the knee, and she hopped one step closer. "On three?" She saw him nod, counted, and pushed herself off the floor. Her right leg came around him and she felt his arm pin it at his side. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Penny giggled as he started up the stairs. "When's your next day off?" She asked.

"Day after tomorrow."

"Can we have a picnic?"

He stopped on the second floor landing. "A picnic? Sure."

"Great!" she said. "I didn't go on many of them when I was a kid. Oh, and you have to sign my cast. Write something awesome and nerdy."

He laughed. "Sounds like a plan."

**Review if you want to!**


	10. It's Alive

**This chapter came so close to me having to change the rating! But I stopped myself/them. They wanted to make out so freaking bad, I almost feel bad for them with how mean I'm being. :D But anyway, here's the next chapter…yeah, the "more in later chapters" thing is definitely happening now.**

When Penny awoke the next morning, she felt happy, eager for the day to begin. For a few moments she lay still, unsure of why, exactly, she was feeling so optimistic. Despite the conversations the day before, she had a feeling it wasn't her haircut.

She rose, and just as she tucked her crutches into place, her cell phone buzzed and she had to sit back down to grab it. _Damn crutches._ She hit the unlock button.

New Message: Leonard

She touched the "read" button. _I assume you're up. I have to supervise experiment w/grad students ten thirty but I will get you when I get home._

"Right!" She said aloud. The picnic! Now that she remembered her own idea, she was even more excited. She practically jumped up and readjusted the crutches, bounding (as best as she could) to the closet. She was getting much better at dressing herself now that she didn't have to worry about dislodging her bone.

She put her hair up in a high ponytail and smiled at her reflection. "You look _hot_, girl," she said jokingly to her reflection.

* * *

Leonard stopped on the way home from the experiment at a few stores and bought a picnic basket and sandwiches. Picnics didn't require them, of course, but he wanted it to be as "fun" as possible for Penny. She'd come up with the idea herself, meaning it was something that she really wanted to do. So he could show up all decked out with a picnic basket and tablecloth for spreading out at the park and she wouldn't find it odd at all.

That reasoning must have stayed in the store, because as Leonard headed up the stairs he was hit with a rush of nerves. "Watch," he mumbled to himself, "she'll think this is stupid." He stopped in front of her door and let out a breath before knocking. "Penny? Damn it," he mumbled when he realized that he'd rapped on the door three times.

"Coming!" He heard her call. Leonard leaned his head against the door and smiled when he heard the clicking of her crutches. When they stopped, he backed up a step and smiled as she swung open the door.

Her face brightened visibly when she saw the picnic basket. "Oh my God, Leonard!" She shrieked, jumping forward and dropping her crutches, wrapping her arms around him.

"I've heard that before," Sheldon said, exiting the apartment. Leonard rolled his eyes. Sheldon shrugged and headed down the stairs, reciting as he went.

Penny leaned back and grinned at him. "I'm so excited!"

"Me, too," he said, smiling back at her.

"Pick up my crutches?" She asked him, letting go and hopping back a step. Leonard bent and retrieved them. "I'm so excited!" She said enthusiastically. "This isn't just two people eating lunch at a park, this is a real picnic!" She headed for the stairs, not even dreading the long hike down.

"Whoa, there," Leonard said. "Let me go ahead of you."

"I'm fine," she insisted, extending her crutches and skipping a step. "See?"

"Be careful," he warned. She turned her head to stick her tongue out at him.

They made it to the first floor much quicker than usual; Penny's unusual spring in her step meant, by the first floor, she was confidant in her ability to skip every other step the entire flight. At least she had to stop at the door; her insistence at carrying the picnic basket rendered her unable to get it herself.

"Penny," Leonard said less than a block later. She was a good half dozen paces ahead of him and attempting to skip with her crutches. "You know you're accident prone," Leonard mumbled, jogging forward. "Penny," he called in a louder voice, "slow down!"

When he caught up to her, he gently put his hands on her sides to slow her down. With her momentum disrupted, Penny tripped and let go of her crutches, using Leonard for balance. "You jerk!" she snapped. "You tripped me!" Leonard felt bad for less than a second, as he could hear the giggle in her voice. Penny turned around, smiling triumphantly. "I saved the picnic basket!" she proclaimed, holding it up.

Leonard tried to look annoyed, but he couldn't stop himself from smirking.

* * *

"Those were really good sandwiches," Penny said, licking mustard off of her finger. "Where were they from?"

"A little place around the corner from the comic book store," he said. "I don't remember the name."

Penny laughed. "Of course you don't." She flicked an ant off of her cast. "You haven't signed it yet," she said, extending her leg out in front of her.

Across from her, Leonard studied the unmarked cast. "True. I haven't. Do you want me too?"

"Duh," she said. "When we get home. I have a marker."

He nodded, using a napkin to wipe his mouth. "Okay."

Penny smiled over at him. They had spread the blanket out just off of a dirt path, against trees. It was a beautiful day, with not a cloud in the sky, and suddenly the whole situation, eating sandwiches in the park on a day like today, seemed closer to perfect than anything Penny had ever experienced before.

She tucked her leg under her and rose on her knees, dropping down to all fours and crawling the short distance to Leonard's side of the blanket almost before she was even aware of what she was doing. They were face to face for the briefest instant, and then Penny put her lips on his.

The kiss was very brief, Penny hadn't even known it was going to happen so Leonard's lack of reaction made perfect sense. She pulled back after a moment and stared at him in shock. "I…" She backed up, hands coming off the ground as she went from all fours to resting on her knees. "I didn't mean for that to happen."

Leonard had been sitting, but now he, too, rose up on his knees and "walked" the distance between them. He raised an eyebrow and looked at her curiously. She shrugged and smiled, not objecting when he put his hands back on her sides and kissed her again. "Mmmm," she said as they broke apart. She cocked her head, letting the sides of her hair-that didn't fit into the ponytail-fall down in her face.

She tried to kiss him again, but he backed up. "What are we doing?" He asked her.

"What do you mean?"

"I _mean_ what are we doing?" He shook his head. "You know how I feel about you, Penny."

She bit her lip, wondering if she'd blown the wonderful ease with which they'd interacted ever since she'd gotten hurt. "Am I crazy?" She asked, settling back down into a sitting position.

He tipped his head, sitting back down and studying her. "What do you mean by that?"

Penny wasn't sure exactly. Did she think she was crazy because she'd just kissed him? Or because the day before she'd told him that she wanted to feel like a kid again, with picnics and signed casts? She shook her head. "I ran off to California when I was way too young to be away from home. Sure, I was old enough to vote, but my way of finding independence was a recipe for disaster. I'm working at the same waitressing job, and I can't even do that because I can't get around. But today…" she looked around. "Today, being out here, I realized that I have almost everything I want in life. But it's nothing like the aspirations of nineteen year old me." She looked over at a kite, flying solo above the tree line, and then back at Leonard. "Am I crazy?"

Leonard studied her for a while, then a mischievous smile came over his face. "No, you're not crazy," he said. "It's a paradox. Think about light…"

"Oh, shut up," she said, pushing him over. He laughed, and just like that, they were back to being two people who found ease and happiness in each other's company.

They easily and convincingly hid behind that façade until later that day, when Leonard brought Penny back to her apartment. "That was so much fun," she said as she unlocked her apartment door.

"Yeah, it was," he agreed, grinning at her.

Penny opened her door and took a step forward, then stopped. Pivoting on her crutches, she smiled at Leonard, who returned the gaze. "Well," she stammered after a moment or two, "As soon as I find that marker, you must put your signature right…" she leaned over and tapped her cast. "…here. And you'd better think of something awesome to write, you hear me?"

"Uh-huh," he said, nodding quickly. "I'll see you later for Thai food at our place."

"Gotcha," she said, smiling. Entering her apartment door, she shut it securely and turned around, dropping her crutches to the floor and pressing her back against the door. "Oh boy," she whispered to herself. "It's back again."

* * *

Leonard entered 4A and sank down on the couch, glancing in the direction of Penny's apartment. It had been months since they'd gone out, months since he'd really been able to hold her and kiss her the way he always wanted to, and despite his lack of a new girlfriend and his immense need to take care of her now that she was injured, Leonard hadn't expected the reaction the kiss gave him.

That cat was no less alive then it had been in the beginning.

**Wasn't real sure how to end this…but this is what I'm going with. Hope you liked it, let me know!**


	11. The X and O Thing

**This chapter definitely took a turn that I did not expect until the next chapter, but I think it works! I'm guessing one or two more chapters, depending on any plot bunnies I may get at work this weekend.**

"You know how bored I was last night?" Penny blurted out, looking up from her lap. "I tried to count how many times this cast is wrapped around my leg."

"Oh yeah?"

"Uh-huh."

That was how it'd been for the past half-hour. Since the kiss in the park, Leonard had noticed that Penny had had a hard time with silence. For the most part, they hung out like they used to, but whenever there was any sort of pause; she had to burst in with little facts or comments just to keep the conversations going. Then he'd say something to the effect of "oh yeah?" she'd affirm what she'd said, and they'd lapse into silence again.

In her defense, Leonard knew that he'd changed his behavior since the kiss, too. Now, when they were going up or down stairs, he was hesitant to put his hand on her sides or elbows to ensure balance. He still did, every time, because he knew that she expected it and it made her feel steady, but at the same time he wondered what went through her mind when he touched her. Was she feeling safe because he was there, reassuring her that she wouldn't fall backwards? Or was she feeling as awkward as he was, wondering how the other was now interpreting actions that had seemed so casual, so free, until the day before?

Leonard figured that they hadn't been totally platonic before that kiss. He'd carried her, held her on occasion, spent almost every waking moment with her, and piggybacked her up the stairs. But kissing…that named it, even if they didn't speak it out loud. That made everything a little more serious.

The change in how they interacted was evident to both of them. Penny chewed her lip, trying to think of something else to say. She watched Leonard out of the corner of her eye; the very corner of her eye. They were sitting a few inches farther apart than usual; she could barely see him without turning her head. So she did. "Can we talk?"

He jumped when she spoke, as if he wasn't expecting her to. Or maybe, since she'd been talking all morning, he hadn't been expecting those words. "Yeah," he said, nodding and adjusting his position so he faced her. "What's up?"

"No," she said. "No pretending. We've been pretending for weeks."

She could see that he knew what she meant. His shoulders dropped a few inches and he nodded slowly. "Okay." He hesitated, then sucked in a breath. "I've actually been dying to ask…"

Penny smiled. "I think it was alive, but…I only got a quick look." She sat up, scooting over so they were closer.

"Yeah," Leonard said. "That's what I was…"

He trailed off, and they looked at each other for the briefest instant before leaning forward simultaneously. Their lips met somewhere in the middle of the space between them; his hand rested on her knees and hers came up to his face. The kiss wasn't quick and simple like the kiss in the park, this was more eager, almost frantic, as they tested a theory that had already been proven.

Penny awkwardly rose on her good leg, the bad one against the seat cushion, and pushed herself closer to Leonard. Her movement caused him to lean backward, and then he was lying on the couch with Penny resting on top of him. Her hands slid down to his shoulders and back up to his neck, and his arms slid around her waist and held her close.

Suddenly, Penny pulled her head back. "Wait," she said, feeling breathless and even more so frustrated. "We can't have sex. I'd hurt my leg."

Leonard smiled up at her. "Don't worry," he said. "After all the effort we put into healing that thing, I'm not going to let us ruin it in the final weeks."

Penny smiled back, tilting her head slightly as she looked at him with affection. "Um," she said after a moment, feeling a bit of awkwardness seeping back into the room, "does this mean we're back together?"

Leonard opened his mouth, then closed it again and smiled slyly. "I don't know, are we?"

She grinned, lowering her head until their noses were mere inches apart. "Will you be my nerdy boyfriend again, Leonard?" she asked him.

He responded by moving his hands up her back and pulling her down against him again. "Of course," he said, quietly, stroking her hair.

"God," she said, pushing her nose against his chin. "I've missed you. Not like…I know you've been here, but…you know what I mean, right?"

"I think I've gotten pretty good at that," he commented, and she felt his chest shake a little as he laughed. Penny sighed, closing her eyes for a moment before remembering something. "You gotta sign my cast!" She exclaimed, jumping up awkwardly.

"Give me a marker," he said agreeably. Penny hopped over to the counter and found a Sharpie. She hopped back and settled on the couch, handing it to him. "Don't look until I'm done," he teased.

She covered her eyes with her hands. "Not looking," she said. She felt the pressure on her leg as Leonard started to write, and when it was off for more than a few seconds, she peered between her fingers.

"Don't look!" The sharp tone made her cover her eyes again quickly. "I didn't say I was done," Leonard said in a mock angry tone.

"Sorry!"

After another minute or so, she heard the click that signaled that the cap was back on the marker. Then Leonard's voice reached her ears, telling her that it was okay to look. She opened her eyes and tilted her head to read it better.

_Just a few more weeks to go, and then this cast will be off and you can do everything you used to. The cat's alive, XOXO, Leonard._

She felt her mouth hang open; she put her hands to it in pleasant surprise. "Awww," she said, looking up at him. "You used the X and O thing I taught you!" She swung her leg under her as she rose on the good one, falling against Leonard and throwing her arms around him.

He kissed her forehead. "See? You've taught me something."

She adjusted her weight so she was more comfortable, then lay her head back on his shoulder. She was still unable to walk normally, but she felt so, so good.

**Review! Especially if you have something to say! :D**


	12. Timing

**Okay, this picks up pretty much where the last chapter left off…these last (two?) chapters will show the remaining issues in the relationship and remaining issues with the leg. Then Penny will be better, Penny&Leonard will be all better, and the fic will be over.**

_Knock knock knock _"Leonard?"

_Knock knock knock _"Leonard?"

_Knock knock knock _"Leonard?"

Penny gave a deep sigh and sat up. "Interrupted makeouts," she mumbled. "Story of our lives."

Leonard sighed in agreement, sitting up and then getting to his feet. "Tell me about it," he said, going for the door. "At times like these, I wish I were a violent sociopath," he informed Sheldon upon opening the door.

The theoretical physicist frowned. "I don't believe that. As your best friend, it would be preposterous for you to want me dead, especially since I am not a loose end in any crime that you may have recently committed…" He started, cocking his head. "…am I?"

"No." Leonard shook his head. "What do you need?"

"I wanted to know if you were occupied at the moment," Sheldon said. "I need a ride to Pottery Barn."

"Oh." Leonard looked down at his feet. "Well, actually, I…"

Sheldon looked at him, then at Penny. His jaw dropped. "Were you two engaging in coitus?"

"No," Penny said, raising her knee until her cast could thump down on the coffee table. "Dangerous."

"And loud. And unsanitary. And…"

"Don't care, Sheldon," Leonard said under his breath.

Sheldon nodded to him. "I hear and comprehend the subtlety. So what were you two doing?"

Leonard glanced at Penny, who smiled. "We were kissing."

"Oh." Sheldon nodded; that wasn't too uncommon. "So you two are once again 'an item'?"

Leonard and Penny's eyes met again, and they smiled at each other. "Yes, Sheldon," Penny said. "We are."

"Okay." Sheldon adjusted his grip on the bag that he was holding. "So is it safe to assume that Penny is no longer reluctant to admit to feeling the primitive emotion of romantic love when it comes to you, Leonard?"

Leonard, who had been looking at Sheldon, glanced at Penny, who opened her mouth to respond but found no words. "E…" she tried, trailing off. She looked at Sheldon, then looked away, toward her room. Lack of anything believable to look at, she looked back at Leonard.

He was looking between her, Sheldon, and the ground. "Actually…"

Penny jumped up, hopping toward him. "Leonard, you know…"

"It's okay," he said. "We're just getting back together. No need to explain."

"No, but…"

"Sheldon," Leonard said, turning to him. "Wait in the car. I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Can you be more specific?" Sheldon asked.

"No."

When Sheldon had gone, Leonard turned to Penny and put his hands on her arms. "Listen to me," he said. "We've been broken up for months. We decided to get back together ten minutes ago. You don't need to say anything."

Penny looked away. "I didn't say it when you did because…well, you know. My past. But I really wasn't sure yet…that's like rehearsing for a play or something. You want to do it, you know it's happening, but when the time comes you get stage fright." She looked back up at him. "I got stage fright."

"And it's _okay_," Leonard said. "You and I are just starting again." He brushed some hair from her eyes.

She slid her arms around him, sighing as she felt his own around her. "You're such a great guy," she said.

She pulled back, and he smiled at her. She loved his smile. "I'd better go and drive Sheldon to Pottery Barn," he said, motioning to the door.

"Yeah." Penny nodded, hopping backward so he had room to go out the door. Leonard smiled, touched her cheek, and headed for the stairs. When he reached the steps, she bit her lip. "Wait."

He stopped, looking at her with a smile. "Yeah?"

She hopped out into the hallway, wobbling slightly as she held the cast off of the ground. _I can't wait to bash this cast in a million pieces when I get it off. _"If my dad never told me that he was proud of me even though I was a girl, and then one day he realized that he was, and wanted to tell me that, then found out that I was dying or something, and rushed to my side and told me anyway…would you think he was sweet for making sure I knew as soon as he knew, or corny that the whole thing went down like a Hollywood movie?"

Leonard furrowed his brow. "Um…sweet for making sure you knew. Why?"

Penny took another hop toward him. "I can't believe that you don't know why, with my analogy. You're so adorable." She closed the rest of the distance between them. "I love you. I think I knew a long time ago." He looked at her, not saying anything. "Oh my God," she said. "That was corny. It was corny, wasn't it? But I mean it. Every word."

He smiled. "You're from Nebraska, so you have to be just a little bit corny," he joked, letting go of her with one hand and reaching in his pocket. "What are you doing?" she asked him.

"Close your eyes," he said. "Both feet on the floor."

"Okay…" she shut her eyes and patiently waited, wondering momentarily if he'd be gone when she opened them. Her subconscious had cruelly wakened her from dreams this way before.

Not this time. After a minute or so, Leonard told her she could open her eyes. "What did you do?" she asked, looking behind her. "What?"

"I just wanted to see you standing on two feet again," he said.

"With my eyes closed?"

He shrugged. "I'll see you later. I have to drive Sheldon."

Penny watched him go, more than a little confused. He wasn't the kind of person who would stare at her with her eyes closed just for the sake of staring at her. Hopping back into her apartment, she racked her brain, unable to figure out what had just happened.

It was less than five minutes later that she figured it out, as she sank down on the couch and tried to get comfortable with the cast. There was now writing on the part that encased her foot; there hadn't before. Penny leaned over and tilted her head to read the signature. The top part was the same: _Just a few more weeks to go, and then this cast will be off and you can do everything you used to. The cat's alive, XOXO, Leonard._

Below that read: _I love you, too._

Penny smiled, hands on her cheeks. "I am so keeping this cast."

**Hope you all liked it!**


	13. The Universe Went Dancing

**Okay, this chapter actually isn't the end. I didn't want to jump from them getting back together to the fic's conclusion that fast, so here's a filler chapter before we get on with it! Though maybe "filler" isn't the right word, as we all love Leonard and Penny together and that's what this fic was about and now they finally are, so…I'm confusing myself. Happy reading!**

That night, Leonard crawled into bed with Penny for the first time in months. She'd snuggled as close to him as possible and put her arm across his chest. He'd shifted his weight so he was slightly on his side so both arms were around her. It was almost what she liked to call their "that's my girl" position. Almost.

"So," she murmured, closing her eyes and resting her forehead against the side of his face, "tomorrow we're going to the doctor, and then you and I are going to that restaurant? The one where we had our first date?"

"Which first date?" He asked. "The real first date or that embarrassing situation involving you, me, a lie, and an olive?"

Penny smiled even though he couldn't see it. "Let's say the real date. The one where I was so nervous beforehand I took about three showers, brushed my hair until it was ready to fall out, and stared at myself in that dress for a half an hour before deciding that I looked fine and didn't have anything better and there was no point in changing again. The one that I actually asked Sheldon for advice about because I was so desperate for it to go right, and I almost started crying because I didn't understand Schrödinger's cat and I knew that somehow, he was making a point that I needed to know about. I knew that it was important, but I couldn't grasp the concept myself, and I was terrified that not knowing would be our downfall."

Leonard chuckled, amused. He ran his fingers lightly up and down her arm. "And when did you figure out what he meant?" He asked her, smiling.

Penny tilted her head up to see him. "When you kissed me."

"Like this?" he asked, tipping his head down so his lips could reach hers.

"Mmmhmmm," Penny answered, putting a hand on his chest. "Just like that."

"So?" Leonard asked her.

"So?" Penny repeated, cocking her head as best she could while lying on her side.

"So," Leonard said, "which first date?"

"I told you, the real one," Penny said. "Can we go there? To that restaurant?"

"You want that not – technically – yogurt?" He asked teasingly.

"Shut up," Penny said, shaking her head playfully. She scooted her upper body closer to him and kissed him again. "I love you," she whispered when they broke apart.

"I love you, too," he said, and she could see in his eyes how much he meant it. "Hey," he said, a smile coming over his face. "Did we just have our first mutual I love yous?"

Her jaw dropped ever so slightly as she smiled. "Oh yeah," she said, slapping his chest lightly. "It was!" The first _spoken_ reciprocations, but it certainly counted; though Penny figured that the "I love you too" on her cast counted for something as well.

"So, what do you want to do after?" Leonard asked her.

Penny thought about it. "Well, maybe we could go back to the park…what?"

Leonard was smirking. "Not after we go out to eat tomorrow, after your cast is off. After you're no longer trapped. When the universe shot out of its tiny speck of density, it didn't go for a walk in the park. It went sky diving. It flew somewhere for the weekend and went skiing. It went and did all the things it couldn't do while it was confined."

"You're telling me I should act like the universe has just begun?" Penny asked him.

"At the great risk of sounding cornier than your hallway confession," Leonard said, "isn't it?"

Penny smiled. "You know, in a parallel universe we're not together right now."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Penny was afraid that her comment would hurt Leonard's feelings. But they didn't; he smiled. "We'll let that Penny and Leonard figure it out," he said. "Sound good?"

Penny thought about it for about .2 seconds. "Yeah, sounds good," she said, moving closer again so she could no longer see him. She didn't have to; cuddling was just as good. "Maybe when it's off we can go surfing."

"Surfing?" Leonard pulled his head back to look at her. "Honey, I'm no good at surfing."

"I'll be standing on one and a half legs."

He laughed. "Good point. What else?"

"Dancing!" Penny sat up. She kept one hand on the other side of Leonard so he didn't get up; he just looked fondly up at her. "We could go somewhere with dancing and go completely crazy! You know, dance like idiots to Metro Station's 'Shake It' or something like that." She wiggled her shoulders in example, and Leonard rolled his eyes. "So, how about it?"

"Sure," he said, sliding his arms around her sides and tugging her back down next to him. "That sounds great."

"I am going to stand on this leg," Penny said dreamily, moving the injured leg and bumping it against Leonard's – as if he didn't know _which_ leg she was talking about. "I am going to stand on it and spin in a circle and I'm going to run and jump and act like a little kid. But first…" she trailed off, feeling her lower jaw tighten as she yawned. She grinned and looked at Leonard. "Well, apparently, first I'm going to go to bed."

"I'm pretty tired, too," he agreed. "But tomorrow's going to be a lot of fun!"

"You bet it is," she said, curling up against him again. She rolled on her side and slid her arm around him, and he curled his arms lovingly around her. Penny smiled. _This _was the That's My Girl position.

**Hope you liked it!**


	14. Steps

**Okay, so I know that this is long, but I didn't see how I could really break it up into two chapters; it was four shorter segments. If it really doesn't feel like an ending I can always add something to it later, but as of now, this fic is complete! Hope you enjoyed it!**

**I still don't own anyone or anything of significance.**

"You know, it's amazing how rare it was that I wore pink while I had this stupid cast," Penny said, pulling on white capris made of sweatpants material. "I could have taken advantage of all that crazy girly stuff that I bought when I got out here."

"When you moved in here?" Leonard asked, sitting up in the bed.

"No," she said, "when I moved out here. Kurt had this fantasy of what a California girl should look like, and I curled my hair and wore all pink for the first month. I always was dressed up. He only paraded me around when he went out if I was dressed like that, and he was all I knew out here, so I did it." Leonard wrinkled his nose. Penny put her hands on her hips. "You don't like it when I dress up?"

"You're stunning when you're dressed nice," Leonard said, "but you're just as beautiful in those sweatpants."

Penny cocked her head, kept her hands on her hips, and pivoted at the waist, smiling seductively. "Thank you."

Leonard grinned at her.

"So," Penny said, turning back to the mirror and drawing her hair up into a ponytail. "What do you think the news will be today?"

"I'd expect the usual reports on traffic accidents, weather…"

She stuck her tongue out at him through the mirror. "I mean about my leg, genius."

"Oh." He pretended to think, as if that news had never crossed his mind. "Well, my guess is you'll get another cast, or maybe just a brace. But you'll still be on crutches; it's not even been two months yet."

Penny sighed. "I guess my hopes of dancing won't be realized any time soon, then, huh?"

Leonard shook his head. "Not today. But soon; the day's getting closer. Now, if we were in the _Star Wars_ universe, we could use a lightsaber to just cut off the leg – the heat would cauterize the wound – we'd shoot you full of painkillers first, of course, and fit you with a prosthetic leg that would work just as well as the real one. Just like Luke Skywalkers."

"I'd be part droid?" Penny said, wrinkling her nose. "Like…" her eyes rolled back as she struggled to retrieve the name from the back of her mind. "General Grievous?" Leonard's grin told her that she had it right, and she pumped her fist in celebration. "Yeah!"

Leonard clapped his hands together a couple of times. "Getting there."

"What do you mean, 'getting there'?" she challenged.

"You forgot the name of the woman who gave Anakin the scar above his eye the other day."

"They didn't even mention that in the movies; shoot me for not reading your expanded universe books," she said sarcastically. They grinned at each other. "Okay," Penny said, "I'm ready now. Can we go?"

"The appointment isn't for an hour," Leonard said, looking at the clock. "You really want to go now?"

Penny hadn't realized the time. "Hmmm." She hopped back to the bed and climbed on it. Crawling over to Leonard, she lay on her side next to him and rested her head and left hand on his chest. "I suppose I could lay like this for a few minutes."

* * *

"Well," said the doctor, examining Penny's bare leg, "I'd call it ninety percent healed." She reached over the table for that day's X-rays and held them up for Penny and Leonard to see. "Right there you can still tell that there was damage to the bone, and if you run your hands over that are you'll be able to feel a slight bump."

Penny leaned over to feel the leg. There was a bump visible. "Is this bone going to be weaker, now?"

"No," said the doctor, "it's healed very well, right where it should have. Now, should you be put in the same situation as you were when you hurt it this time, you'll hurt it again. But tripping won't snap it in half."

"That's good, because she'll probably trip a lot," Leonard commented.

Penny ignored him, rolling her eyes. "I can live with that," she said, looking down at her leg. It was clearly paler than the other one, and the lack of use had caused the muscles to weaken. She'd tried flexing them in the cast whenever she could remember to, but it didn't change the fact that she wasn't walking on it. "What do I do with it now?"

"I'm going to put a brace on the leg," said the doctor. "It'll protect it from bumping and jostling. I still don't want you walking on it, but you can stand on it. A few steps may be okay, but no stairs, no running, and no walking, not even across a room. Clear?"

Penny nodded. "Yes. Can I pick the color of the brace?"

"We have black."

"Oh," she said, nodding. "Okay. I was probably going to pick that anyway."

"Sure you were," Leonard said from his seat by the table.

"Shut up," she said, looking over at him and smirking.

When the brace was fitted, the doctor and Leonard helped Penny stand up, and she lowered her foot to the floor for the first time in weeks. She balanced herself, putting some weight on the foot, then becoming more confidant. She let go of the table and put her hands in the air. "_Yeah_!"

The next thing she knew, Leonard was hugging her, and she had to lower her arms from the air to around his neck to keep her balance. But she was laughing as she did it, laughing because she hadn't yet taken a literal step forward, but a step had been made just the same.

His arms wrapped around her and his chin on her shoulder, Leonard found himself grinning broadly even as the beginning of tears began to form in his eyes. He easily blinked them away, but it didn't change the fact that he was proud of her. She'd been so brave throughout this entire ordeal, and she'd spent so many nights alone and so many hours afraid and frustrated, but she'd always managed to find a positive light to stand under. He knew that she would give him all the credit for keeping her sane, but she'd never given herself enough credit for anything.

He stepped back and held her at arm's length, smiling. The past six weeks he'd seen the woman who he'd found crumpled at the foot of the stairs, and then the pale, drawn, stressed woman who broke down in tears whenever she had to maneuver her wheelchair through a door. Now, he saw the Penny who had overcome a temporarily debilitating injury to be able to literally stand on her own two feet again. This wasn't the Penny of a month ago.

"I am so proud of you," he said, smiling at her.

She put her hands on his shoulder. "Thank you," she responded. Leaning toward him she pressed the tip of her nose to his. "Love you."

Their heads both turned in unison at the sound of the uncomfortable doctor clearing her throat. _Oops_. Leonard had forgotten that she was there, and based on Penny's expression, so had she. "You'll have to sign here," the doctor said, holding out a clipboard.

"Right," Penny said, taking it. "Thanks."

* * *

That night, Leonard showered and readied himself for bed. When he exited Penny's bathroom, she wasn't there. Wandering into the living area, he found her standing by the refrigerator, the crutches leaning up against the counter. "What are you doing?" he asked her.

She put a finger on one of the photographs taped to the fridge. "I always had this at eye level," she said, "but I hardly ever looked at it while I was on crutches because it frustrated me, you know, that I couldn't hang out with all you guys. Now that I'm going to be able to soon, it's my favorite picture all over again."

Leonard didn't know what she was talking about, so he joined her in the kitchen and took a look. It was taken around the time that Penny had shot Sheldon's spot with the paintball gun; at the park. Howard and Raj were in the background, staring at the sky but tilting their faces toward the camera, remote controls in their hands. Sheldon was giving his Kill Batman smile, Penny was standing in between him and Leonard, her hair all to one side as if she'd been twirling, and Leonard was looking at the camera and smiling, not the forced smile he always had in pictures, but a natural one, because of the story behind the picture. Penny'd been trying out her new camera, and had set it up on the top of a bench on a timer. By the time she'd got the timing right, Raj and Howard had given up on a "friends portrait" and were back to flying their model TIE fighters. Sheldon had just "perfected" his smile when Penny got the timer right, shouted "it's working!" and bolted back to the guys to get in the picture, spinning around to face the camera with a smile already on her face. Engrossed in their game, Raj and Howard had had a moment to turn and smile before resuming the fight, and Leonard, who had stood there the entire ten minutes Penny fiddled with the camera, saw the light begin to blink and smiled at just the right time. Somehow, the camera had taken the picture in the moment they were all facing it, and if it wasn't for the fact that Penny's hair was still continuing in the momentum that her spin had caused, the picture would have had no evidence of the hassled conditions under which it was taken.

Leonard smiled. "I remember that day. Tell you what, once you can walk and I catch up on my university work, we'll go there. All five of us. I won't be working odd hours, so we'll all be able to spend some time together." Although Raj, Howard, and Sheldon's schedules hadn't changed, Leonard's differing work hours had caused him and Penny to change their lifestyles a little, going out during the day and falling asleep early, and Penny's limited mobility had prevented them from going out to eat or to the comic book store with their friends.

"But we'll still go dancing, right?" Penny asked. Now that the idea had been suggested, she really, really wanted to make it a reality.

Leonard held his hands out to her, and, giving him a slightly confused look, Penny put hers in his own. He stepped backward, and she hopped after him until they were by the couch. Leonard reached over and turned on the radio sitting on the coffee table, then put his hands on her waist. She put hers on his shoulders, and lifted her bad foot off the ground, grinning as they spun in slow circles. "Dancing for Invalids," she said, grinning.

When they were too dizzy to spin anymore, Penny and Leonard collapsed on the couch, laughing. "We'll do some real dancing in a few weeks," he promised. "And we'll go to the park with Howard, Raj, and Sheldon."

"Did I hear my name?" came a voice from the door.

Penny sat up and smiled. "Come in!"

The three aforementioned nerds and Bernadette entered the apartment. "Leonard texted us!" Howard said excitedly.

"Oh yeah?" Penny asked, confused.

"Show us! Show us!" Howard and Bernadette said impatiently.

Penny looked at Leonard in confusion as he got up off the couch. "Come on," he said encouragingly.

Then Penny realized what he meant. She slowly eased herself off the couch and to her feet, placing weight on both of them. She put her hands up in the air again. "Ta da!"

"Yeah!" said the couple. Sheldon and Raj nodded in acknowledgement of the feat. Then all of them, Howard, Bernadette, Sheldon, Raj, and Leonard enveloped Penny in a group hug. "Everything's almost back to normal, now," Howard said happily.

"Thank God for that," Sheldon said. "I need Leonard to drive me to Pottery Barn. I just noticed that my _Star Wars _quilt has Jar Jar Binks on it."

* * *

It seemed like forever, but in reality wasn't too many weeks later, when Leonard parked his car, opened the door for Penny, and watched her walk, with no cast and no brace, into the apartment building. He followed her up the first two flights of stairs, until she turned and looked at him. "This is too tiring," she said, and he knew what she wanted. He moved in front of her and she jumped on his back for a ride up the next two flights. "Thanks," she said, grinning and hopping down at the entrance to her apartment door.

He kissed her cheek. "No problem, Lovebug."

"I think I'll be able to dance soon," she said, waiting for him to enter before closing the door. "We're going to go crazy."

"I don't doubt it," he said, smiling at her. "So, do you want to watch that movie we rented?" He motioned to the coffee table, where it sat.

Penny thought for a moment. "You know? I don't." She grabbed his hand and started backing toward her bedroom, smiling seductively. "I've had a lot of spare time these past months."

"What does that mean?" he asked, looking a little confused.

"double u, double u, double u, dot," Penny said slowly. "Google dot com."

He smirked, leaning in to kiss her as they entered the bedroom.

**Hope that wasn't super lame! I was thinking about writing another chapter where she actually gets to walk, but then figured I'd just write the "tag" at the end. :D Hope you liked it!**


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